Best way to learn to understand fast-speaking American English if non-native speaker?

[seeker5]

I've got a friend who isn't from the U.S. but is taking classes in the U.S. He can converse ok in English, but he doesn't understand half of what some fast-speaking professors say. I was wondering what to suggest to him to help him catch up on his ability to understand fast speakers of American English so he'd be better at understanding these professors. Should I suggest to him to watch TV shows were people speak fast without looking at the sub-titles? (if so what shows?) What's the fastest and effective way to learn to understand fast-speaking American?

[Rose of Cairo]

Talking to lots of Americans and asking them to speak as fast as possible?

Hey Seeker, I'm VERY happy to see you post Hug & Kiss.

[Brutha]

Two years ago, at a time where I could easily understand the things on the internet I got a scientific book in english. The book has a high amount of technical terms that simply weren't strongly in my vocabular.
Phrases like "wax and wane" simply didn't gave me a fast understanding of the things that got said.
A college professor could very well use a scientific vocabular that difficult to understand for your friend.

Even in my own native language I have sometimes problems understanding a prof if that prof uses to much words where I have no associations with those words.

What is your friend studying?

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Rose of Cairo

Talking to lots of Americans and asking them to speak as fast as possible?

Hmmm. good suggestion.

Hey Seeker, I'm VERY happy to see you post Hug & Kiss.

Thanks Rose

Originally Posted by Brutha

Two years ago, at a time where I could easily understand the things on the internet I got a scientific book in english. The book has a high amount of technical terms that simply weren't strongly in my vocabular.
Phrases like "wax and wane" simply didn't gave me a fast understanding of the things that got said.
A college professor could very well use a scientific vocabular that difficult to understand for your friend.

What is your friend studying?

He's taking business classes. I don't think reading terms in books will help, although a book on idom and slang would help as he has difficulties with that. I'm in the same class as my friend, and the terms my professor use are 95% common english words. It's more that the professors speaks very fast.

[Rose of Cairo]

Talk to him very fast, one sentence at the time. If he doesn't understand, repeat the sentence just as fast, ten times if necessary. If really necessary, repeat it a little bit slower. Or give him a hint (one word of the sentence). Let him guess what you said. Use slang. He'll have many "aha!" moments and get used to it.

[Eisho]

Originally Posted by seeker5

I've got a friend who isn't from the U.S. but is taking classes in the U.S. He can converse ok in English, but he doesn't understand half of what some fast-speaking professors say. I was wondering what to suggest to him to help him catch up on his ability to understand fast speakers of American English so he'd be better at understanding these professors. Should I suggest to him to watch TV shows were people speak fast without looking at the sub-titles? (if so what shows?) What's the fastest and effective way to learn to understand fast-speaking American?

First of all, teach him how to politely ask people to slow down and clarify points he misses.

Then get him to do what is called Shadowing. This is when he speaks along with a native speaker. It means don't just watch TV shows, try to speak at the same speed at the actors and copy what they say. Doing this will produce VERY fast and effective results.

Cheers,

Eisho

[Rose of Cairo]

Originally Posted by Eisho

Then get him to do what is called Shadowing. This is when he speaks along with a native speaker. It means don't just watch TV shows, try to speak at the same speed at the actors and copy what they say. Doing this will produce VERY fast and effective results.

Hey! What an excellent idea!!! I'm going to do this too. Thank you very much Eisho

[seeker5]

Then get him to do what is called Shadowing. This is when he speaks along with a native speaker. It means don't just watch TV shows, try to speak at the same speed at the actors and copy what they say. Doing this will produce VERY fast and effective results.

Cheers,

Eisho

You mean, speak along with the actors on the show after he's already watched it and knows what they are going to say? Or you mean to try to speak along the first time he hears what they are saying?

[Bruce Achterberg]

I'm very good at inputting data that's said quickly, providing it's said clearly by someone intelligent who cares about language or ideas. Input is even one of my top 5 StrengthsFinder 2.0 talent themes.

I've found that in terms of reading, watching media with subtitles that display very quickly, and also reading things on the internet while scrolling down, to be a very effective way of strengthening my "fast input" muscles.

I find inputting information becomes more about pattern matching and less about specific words.

I'm sure you could apply this concept to listening to something as well.

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by seeker5

I've got a friend who isn't from the U.S. but is taking classes in the U.S. He can converse ok in English, but he doesn't understand half of what some fast-speaking professors say. I was wondering what to suggest to him to help him catch up on his ability to understand fast speakers of American English so he'd be better at understanding these professors. Should I suggest to him to watch TV shows were people speak fast without looking at the sub-titles? (if so what shows?) What's the fastest and effective way to learn to understand fast-speaking American?

You might want to encourage subtitles, since it'll help with pattern recognition. This will take a while to develop, though, and might even require a certain talent theme... maybe.

Suffice to say some people will be more efficient at information processing than others. E.g. I generally pay more attention than most people and tend to notice more. I've worked hard to cultivate awareness like this, but I think my natural ability augment the work I did. In other words, I already had a natural advantage and ability to learn quickly in this area.

Let your friend use his feelings guide him, providing he's cultivated enough internal self-awareness. That should help him see what methods are drawing on his talents and will thus produce better, faster, exponential learning, and what is mostly a draining waste of time. (Draining wastes of time for me include trying to input something I don't care about. It's like everything I listen to drains through in a sieve-like manner. But if I care about what I'm inputting, I become a generalisation machine.)

[seeker5]

Bruce,

My friend's challenge isn't in inputting vast info, but in actually understanding what words the professors is saying. If he doesn't understand the actual English words when they are spoken fast, then he can't move to do the other stuff you're talking about .

I'm sure in his native language, he can understand what's spoken very fast.

[Call me Boges]

Your friends major mistake is trying to learn advanced studies without a full grasp of the language it is being presented in.

bad move